"Die, Gameplayer, Die...And Die Again!"

"Ninja Gaiden 2", the much anticipated follow up to an extrordinary game released back in 2005, rolls out this week. As its creator announced he was leaving publishers Techmo due to unpaid royalties, it looks like we won't be seeing anymore of this unique series but hopefully there will be many more creative games from Tomonobu Itagaki to look forward to in the future.


I must admit I found it quite frustrating to play the first Ninja Gaiden game : it clearly wasn't designed with the average gamer in mind (you die very frequently and the first "boss" you meet is frankly impossible!) but, at the same time, it felt really fresh, challenging and rewarding if you had enough patience to keep going. Additionally, I found it very amusing that here was a game that was intentionally difficult rather than accidentally difficult ! My saving grace came from the Internet, where I discovered there was an easy setting you could unlock for the game. In order to unlock it, you needed to die three times in succession right at the beginning of the game : having done this, you were then offered the "Ninja Dog Difficulty" setting : from that point onwards , I was teased, ridiculed and humiliated by the game and left with no illusions that I was a coward and wimp for choosing the setting. Needless, to say, I proceeded to enjoy and finish the game!

From a business perspective, however, its very important not to alienate and frustrate your audience: sales can sometimes be literally doubled simply by ensuring that all players' skills are catered for. I know a lot of people were unaware of the existence of the easy setting and gave up in frustration as a result. On the other hand, lots of hardcore gamers were thrilled and delighted by the unique game challenge. As a game consultant, I know I would have been arguing vehemently for the inclusion of the easy setting from the beginning at the main menu but, looking back in hindsight, sometimes we need to make allowances and exceptions for certain games : this industry badly needs games that challenge the norm, push the limits and move the boundaries : after all, thats how the industry grows and moves forward, not by producing yearly sequels.

UPDATE
The demo was released on Xbox live marketplace (Europe not US) today : much the same game as the original but with enhanced graphics and spectacular new moves and weapons. There are serious camera issues this time around, however. This could have been fixed by simply moving the camera's initial position slightly back/up : or even by allowing the player to push in the left controller stick to set the camera position themselves...maybe this will done for the retail version?

"You've Got 90 Seconds...."

I was talking on the web phone to one of my clients yesterday, trying to persuade him to give his team project a bit more time. I added that releasing the game in its current state would be commercial suicide : after a very heated discussion, he agreed to sleep on it and resume discussions on Monday. Relieved and tired after a busy week, I flopped onto the sofa and lazily scanned the TV channels for some good old entertainment : I ended up watching "America's Got Talent", the latest reality TV hit show where 3 "celebrity" judges vote, criticise and demean the efforts of amateur singers, dancers, magicians and comedians who are all competing for the top prize of one million dollars. It suddenly occured to me that , if you swapped the artists with game developers/publishers and made them sell their game to the media the same way, the end result would not be very far off from how the business works in real life... Confused? Well, think of it this way :

- The three celebrity judges represent the games media : the journalists that can make or break your "act" : if you dont have them on your side then you are in big trouble : they will push their big red buzzers which make distracting grating sounds and stop you in your tracks. If you happen to make it through the 90 seconds allowed then you are in with a chance...sleeping with the judges or bribing them for good reviews sometimes helps though!

- And what do these judges really know about what it takes anyway? Piers Morgan, a former successful newspaper editor, David Hasselhorf, an adequate actor and awful singer who got lucky when he discovered Pamela Anderson looked quite good in a red swimsuit, and Sharon Osbourne, daughter of Don Arden, one of the most succesful music industry managers ever...good start for her career in the same business.. what do they know ? The honest answer is : it doesnt matter ! The show is essentially entertainment and they are well known so its their faces and characters that sell the show.

- If you get the crowd on your side (or the game buying public) then that might influence the judges to change their mind. After all , no-one wants to upset the public, do they? We need their money!

I could go on forever making comparisons but the point is this : you dont get a second chance nowadays so tread carefully before you step out onto the stage! Yesterday, for example, I played a demo of "Crash Time " a racing game made by RTL games. In an already overcrowded and competetive racing market, this game looks, sounds and plays like an overgrown wart on my ingrown toe nail! (I wonder if the audience and people at home will laugh at that comment?) - it contained some ok ideas but presentation wise, I was asleep at the wheel after 30 seconds. Hit the buzzer... "NEXT PLEASE...!!!!!"
Wounded pride and lots of tears from the stage, no doubt! But as Simon Cowell says: "No-one makes or forces them to get on that stage in front of millions of people and humiliate themselves!". It does seems such a huge waste of money and resources though ....